Camren: Before and after
by iamashipper
Summary: Please note that this story is based upon a fictional comprehension of two real people in the public sphere. The contents portrayed in this story are not to be perceived as real or intend to offend anyone. These people are public figures that need to be respected, the story is just based upon their names and some facts completely taken out of context.
1. Chapter 1

First

"Do you feel like going to the meeting already, hm? Baby?" Lauren's sleepy eyes answered without any words. "We still have five more minutes". In moments like those, when they were free, in the solitude of their bed, Camilla felt like heaven. She got lost in the thoughts of her and Lauren being in possession of the possibility of running away, of starting an anonymous life, of finding a place where they could explore their love with no cameras trying to grasp every detail. But for now, they were stuck in a golden cage.

"Can we skip it?" Lauren said in a low voice, without taking her head off Camilla's neck. Her voice was one of the things that made her exactly who she was. It made her girlfriend dizzy, it always had, provoked her to get lost in a world of fantasy and happiness. So sexy. "What do you think they are telling us, anyway? So weird" She got up this time, as if she hadn't been laying down for a couple of hours, in fact, as if she had been up all this time. Camilla looked at her girl while she was putting her black shirt back on, expectant to see the show of her getting those leather pants back on her legs.

They got _Starbucks_ on their way to the place where the managers held their office while on tour. They had a couple of days off, and so far they had done no sightseeing, probably too attracted by the idea of _Netflix_ and chilling... all the time. An urgent meeting had been arranged earlier even if they were free and the two girls wondered if something could have happened to any of the group's shows. Or they could have found out about _that_ thing _._ Their attempts at hiding had only been partially successful, Camilla having had a really bad time ignoring Lauren during the interviews and in front of the managers, trying to keep it as personal as possible. Their bandmates had been really helpful in this mission.

Lauren and Camilla waited outside the place for the other girls to arrive, although it felt awkward that they weren't there yet. Camilla hummed and danced on the spot while Lauren texted Normani, suddenly worried: "Are you guys all right? Where r u?" She got no immediate response, so she decided that the best they could do was wait outside the bus. Suddenly the door opened, scaring distracted Camilla.

"Girls, you are here! Perfect, come inside" The man who ordered this was a familiar face, but there were other two faces who they hadn't seen in their lives.

"Shouldn't we wait for the others?" Lauren said, shyly. At that exact moment, Lauren got a text and looked at her screen: "We're chillin' at a bar nearby. SUPER hot waiters, you two wanna come?"

The manager went on talking "There is something that we need to talk to you two about. Alone." There was nothing to worry about, they both knew their manager, but then they realized why they were being called alone. Camilla threw a worried look towards her girlfriend, looking more like a puppy than ever. This meeting could mean the end or the beginning, but both options being equally terrifying.


	2. Chapter 2

Second

"We know" One of the other men said. He was taller, but not scary tall, more like father tall, warm. Against all predictions, Camila managed to recover her sober and calm face, while Lauren looked at her worried, and then to the front again. "You two have been too obvious lately and we cannot take it anymore"

"What do you mean obvious?" Camila had crossed her legs and straightened up her back, trying to look tougher while internally screaming.

"You two are in a relationship, there is no point in denying that to us anymore. We know. However, even the cameras are starting to wonder and that is something that we cannot afford. I'm really sorry to tell you that we need to make a decision today and now, and it is not going to involve your opinion"

Lauren seemed to have recovered her breath while this point was being made and took Camilla's hand tightly while making her face look deadly. The three men in the room were looking at the ladies as if they knew what the world was and they didn't, which made Camila furious. She could not believe what she was living.

"I know it looks complicated but–" Lauren's voice was interrupted by the third man in the room, his was deep and not warm at all. "There is nothing to discuss. It is not complicated, it's simple. You will stop seeing each other romantically, you will stop sleeping in each other's beds and most importantly, you will behave as distant friends when the cameras are on. That is the way it is signed in our contract"

Both ladies tried to think of the best words to say, but they were unable to control themselves. Camilla bit her tongue in anger, while Lauren tried not to break in tears while feeling utterly powerless. This couldn't be the only way.

"Okay then we're leaving" Camila's words felt like a heavy lift leaving her mouth. She didn't know where those words had come from, she just knew she couldn't sacrifice what she felt for Lauren, it was impossible to let go. The whole room seemed to freeze. Everyone was looking at Camila, including Lauren, whose lips were now open and eyes tearing. Lauren maintained the eyes fixed in the three men alternating between the two tough ones and the manager, who was sitting with his hand in his chin. The three of them looked at each other, sighing. This moment Lauren took advantage of to squeeze Camilla's hand even harder and to look at her worried, did she really know what she was doing? "I will not" Camila continued "sacrifice one of the few things keeping me happy right now for the sake of the audience believing something that is not real. I cannot control my feelings and I love her more than anything I have ever loved. You've got no show without us, and we'll convince the other girls to leave too"

The two unfamiliar men laughed at the same time for at least a minute. Fifth Harmony's manager, however, looked worried about the situation, so he spoke. "There is no need to speak nonsense, girls. I know this is complicated, but it would be the end of the group if people found out about you two being... intimate, let alone the contract we signed. Are you two really ready to give up your dreams so easily just because you can't go public about _this_?"

The girls remained silent for a moment. Lauren tried to imagine a life without the newfound happiness that singing in front of thousands of people who knew their names gave her. Without the chance of seeing the faces of hundreds of people she had help get through rough situations every night. She could not give that up, her dreams. But then she looked at her girlfriend and the thought was clear: wherever Camila was going, Lauren would follow.

Lauren's eyes were wet with tears, but she still looked as if a thousand angels had created her face with their best materials. Camila could see her soul through those eyes, being able to truly understand everything going through Lauren's mind, almost as if she could hear her think. Something was wrong; her face had sobered in one second, the same second in which she opened her mouth while standing up. "I can't" she was suddenly crying and her voice produced a high pitch sound "I'm sorry, Camz, I can't". The look on her girlfriend's eyes broke her heart in a million pieces, but it still wasn't enough to make her follow Camilla's lead. The stage was the only thing keeping her life together, there was no way she could give it up.

She could hear the other people on the bus getting out of it and Camila calling her while approaching, but she kept running and looking for a place to hide. The pressure was too much and though she couldn't stand to ignore her girl, she needed to think.


	3. Chapter 3

Third

Camila got out of the bus after throwing a last look towards the board of assholes. Lauren did not respond to her calls, so she gave up. It all had happened so quickly, but now they were far too deep into their love as to back it up and forget about it. It seemed worse than anything, when it used to be so easy.

It was only a year ago that they were friends. Normal friends, bandmates, cool friends, close friends... maybe too close. Their chemistry had always been obvious, they clicked, nothing new. Until one day it got out of hand. After a couple of months of hard work when their first EP had been released and they had to properly promote it, they got to go home for three whole weeks. All the girls were flying home, but Camila chose to stay in LA for a couple of parties she had been invited to.

"You could stay and come with me, if you want" Camila said to Lauren in an attempt to fulfil the strange need she had to be with her as much as possible. "Swift's apartment seems inviting, but that many famous people are going to make me too fangirly and I don't want to look like a full. I could really use some help to calm down".

"My flight leaves tomorrow at noon. Do you think we could make it to the airport in time?" Lauren smiled, internally knowing that she couldn't turn down the invitation from those big brown eyes. "Or at least pretend like I tried to catch it?" she drew that naughty smile that turned Camilla's heart to a race of horses and took her hand to guide her to the car waiting to take them to the party.

Camila took Lauren's hand on their way to the rooftop. It looked like the sensible thing to do, since it had been almost two hours since everyone else had stepped out of the building and had left them two to talk.

They stared at the sky, just looking at how the darkness was starting to vanish before their eyes. It felt so natural to have Lauren's hand in hers, as if it had been there forever, made to be there.

"I had a great time, thanks for making me stay, Camz" her voice was engaging. It engaged you into another dimension, it was deep and intense. Lauren smiled and thought of how sexy Camila had looked that night. The dorky side of her personality was only one of the best things she had. Her skin, her soft, long hair... and that hoy that was contagiously perfect.

"Do you ever think" Camila answered to distract herself from the thoughts of Lauren's lips "about what happened to the sun and the moon before they got stuck in the universe?" Lauren giggled in amazement for her bandmate's imagination.

"They are just gigantic rocks, one of which is on fire, Camila" She was on cloud nine right in that moment "But I do think that they are a beautiful metaphor for lovers"

"Think about it" The shorter of the two continued talking as if captured by a fantasy "the sun and his little love, the moon, were in love against the will of the whole universe. Both tried to run away together, but were punished with a curse. A curse that forbid them to touch each other while being neighbors forever. For eternity, when one was up, the other had to be down and vice versa. But they never lost hope" Her voice cracked a little at the though of this tragedy. Lauren couldn't help but sit a little closer to her. Life felt so right right then. As if she needed nothing else, not even air to breathe. She looked to her left and found Camila's cheek so close. So she put her own hair to the other side of her head and kissed the other girl's cheek, out of the blue. Camila smiled in response and blushed a little.

"What was that for?" She was obviously nervous and had loved the turn that little kiss had taken.

"I just felt like I needed to do that, that's all" Lauren shrugged and smiled, joining Camila's red cheeks. The smaller of the two turned her head towards the eyes of the brunette with bright eyes, leaving their lips only a few inches apart.

"Well then I just feel like I need to do this" Camila took Lauren's face gently into her hands and pressed her lips smoothly against the other girl's. They separated for a moment only to look into each other's eyes and agree on their happiness. Lauren smiled and looked for Camila's lips once again, and several times more that same night.


End file.
